"We are in the era of Republican Mean Girls," wrote New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd this weekend. They're "grown-up versions of those teenage tormentors who would steal your boyfriend, spray-paint your locker and, just for good measure, spread rumors that you were pregnant." Their leader? "Queen Bee Sarah"—Sarah Palin, in case that needs spelling out.

Careful: Queen Bee Sarah is fully capable of stinging back, particularly when prompted by a Fox News reporter. Palin responded to Dowd when asked about the column at a Tea Party event in Nevada. "That's so funny," said Palin jovially, "because I don't think I've ever met that gal, Maureen Dowd--O'Dowd--whatever the heck her name is." Here's the rest of her response, with the video below (starts at 1:55):

I don't think I've ever met her, and ... she probably hasn't met Jan Brewer or some of these other wonderful, pleasant, gracious, nice, hard-working mama grizzlies who are wanting to turn this country around.

So Maureen can say whatever she says. I encourage the other mama grizzlies and liberty-loving Americans to just keep smiling as we work hard to put America back on the right track. We're going to stay  happy and may we always be happy and may our enemies know it.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at hhorn at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Heather Horn